Is winter really on its way?

One morning this week it was very chilly when we got up for the day.  We began to think we had even had a frost.  Apparently not but it was very close.

We were concerned that our tomato plants may have suffered.  We have a lot of green tomatoes and we are hoping for just enough warmth and sunshine to harvest them before winter really sets in.

I went for a wander in the garden this morning and took some photos of flowers that are still on show for us.

The long hot summer has taken its toll on some of the plants but with a return of rain over the last week the plants are managing to hold on for a little while yet.

All too soon, the frosts will be here and these blooms will fade away until we start all over again next spring.

At least these images can provide a record to remind us that they will be back.

Linking to:-

Mockingbird Hill Cottage Favorite Thing # 29 
The Creative Home Acre Hop # 8

Simple, quick, effective

Amazing what a difference a couple of borders can make in framing a quilt top.

This quilt top can be easily achieved in a day from selection of fabrics right down to piecing the borders.

The champion of scrappy quilts, Bonnie Hunter, has this pattern, I spy a 4 patch on her website.

With 40 different I Spy blocks within the quilt Mum and Dad could be kept quite busy sharing the delights of I Spy with their child.

Stitchin' Time

Yesterday was one of those few and far between days (at least it seems that way to us) when Linda and I felt we could devote most of the day to stitching.

We have been wanting to make a baby quilt that is bright and cheery and serviceable; something you can put on the floor for baby to lie on without having to worry if it is too special.

This was to be a shop your stash experience and so that is what we did, raided the stash until we came up with some fabrics we thought would do the trick.

Four patches were the beginnings.

Then we added some I Spy fabrics.

Resulting in a scrappy I Spy quilt.

Borders were added last night so final result with where to get the pattern will be revealed tomorrow.

Godetias

When I lived at our last property and was learning a lot about establishing a flower garden I planted out some godetias.

Linda said to me, 'Once godetia, always godetia.'

I didn't really appreciate what she meant at the time but after a while I realised that even though they died off in the winter, they faithfully returned every spring.

We have not really established them since living here but we did buy a pot of them in late summer and they have proved to be very happy in their new environment.

Such vibrant colours, I hope Linda is correct once again and that there will always be godetias here.

My thanks to PicMonkey for their wonderful free photo editing site - I have been having a lot of fun changing my header and putting different effects to the photos I use on my blog.

Linking to:-

Little Red House Monday Mosaics

Fabric flower frenzy with a difference

After my excursion into 'fabric flower frenzy' with tea cosies and cushion covers I got a fancy to do some more of this sort of thing.

I remembered a project from 3 years ago that I bought when visiting with family in Dallas and decided it was time to revisit what I had set out to do then.

Tracing and cutting out for applique is very unappealing for me and so this is why the project had come to a stand still.  Even so, I found I had already done a lot of the work and so with a bit of a push these past few days I am nearly done with the cutting out so stitching can soon begin.

The cushions and tea cosies were relatively small projects and easy to manage on my domestic sewing machine. The current project is 42 x 42 inches and so it remains to be seen how I will manage all that on the same machine. 

Still I hope to be giving a progress report real soon.

One block, many variations

At our last meeting of Taupo Quiltmakers they announced the return of raffle blocks.

Raffle blocks is one of my favourite activities of the group.

A pattern for a block is issued by the club along with colour options.

In this case the block is Jacobs Ladder and we were asked to do brown and cream blocks.

You can do just one block if you choose or as many as you like.  Your name goes in the hat for each block made and the person who's name is drawn out gets to take home all of the blocks.  Sometimes they have so many blocks returned they do two draws.

On this occasion I have made 4 blocks and have been playing with variations on a theme.  Sure would love to win the blocks so I could play some more.  Of course, I could just make some anyway, but receiving a whole batch ready made somehow seems more appealing.

I have been the lucky recipient of these blocks before.  We had the disappearing nine patch blocks and these lovely blue and white blocks.

Chooks in action

Ever since the first day we brought them home our hens have been busy winning over our hearts and lives.

We brought them home in our car and gave them some pellets.  They fell on them with such enthusiasm you would have thought they hadn't eaten for a week.

They are very good at falling on fresh food with great enthusiasm - we have found that out, especially when we take them a selection of household scraps for breakfast each morning.  Our scraps are gourmet delights to them.

Even when we let them out to forage in the evening they still have an expectancy that we are there just for the sole purpose of giving them extra treats.

Once they get past that idea the foraging begins to happen.

Clara, the leader of the pack, loves Linda's rose garden and regular visits to give the root areas a good working over.

Zara prefers to take things more in style and loves to relax in the dust bath, tossing and turning to make the most of the dry earth that has resulted from our extended dry weather.

Goodness knows what they will do for a dust bath when the wet weather finally comes - maybe tomorrow.

We have settled into a daily routine with the hens and they are rewarding us with 4 eggs a day which is a nice amount for us.  We keep on thinking we will have a surplus but it has not really happened yet. 

Cup Cakes and Polka Dots

It has been a few months since I last talked about cup cakes and polka dots but just recently Linda has been busy on the quilting machine and now I am in the midst of hand stitching the binding and then it is all finished.

No home has been found for this one yet but we can be enjoying it while we wait.

In the interests of stash busting and frugality Linda used a re purposed 100% wool cot blanket for the batting and a cotton fabric remnant from an op shop for the backing.  Very nice and cosy.

There was no pattern for this quilt, I just made it up as I went along.

The cup cakes in the centre were meant to be a feature but, with hindsight, I realise I should have used a stronger contrast in the fabrics.

However, Linda worked some magic with machine stitching a border around the blocks as well as doing some tiny stitching around the cup cakes.

I really appreciate the work she put into it.

This quilt was made in the interests of stash busting, as well as having a bit of fun along the way, but considering I have since been given some more cup cake fabric it is back to the drawing board for me.

The Sweet Peas are gathering

We did not realise when we bought this property how handy the large courtyard and lawn area might be.

Most Sweet Pea mornings we have 5 to 6 cars parked in this area and it is nice to think they ladies can gather without having to look for parking anywhere else.

As usual, there was lots of chatter and laughter and much interest in new and completed projects.

Debbie brought along this scrappy quilt which is still a work in progress.  The lovely bright colours and the way Debbie has mixed them is just magical.

I talked before about a change of direction in our birthday gifts for each other.

I made this block and yesterday we got to see what the others had made.

Trish loved the collection and it was not long before we were all gathered around as decisions were made about how all the blocks should be placed.

This is what we came up with.

A lovely assortment of stars with a common background.

Trish is going to make a quilt for the back of her living room sofa and we look forward to seeing the completed project.

Design board

Our design boards are large sheets of polystyrene with polar fleece pinned on them - pretty basic but they work for us.

I have spent a lot of time over the last week or so playing with the blocks in this quilt top.

When I completed the granny square quilt top I had a lot of 2.5 inch strips over from the jelly roll that had been given to me.

I also had surplus of the reddish background fabric and so I commenced making a whole lot of scrappy four patches and then playing with placement of blocks ensued.

After trying several options this was my final solution and so I now have another quilt top to add to my pile.

Last of the summer roses?

Come summer the roses bushes are in full flush and bring so much enjoyment.

The season wears on and with a bit of pruning at the right time you will probably get a second flush.

Then they seem to die away but there usually are one or two bushes that like to surprise with a last minute flourish.

This small yellow rose is a perfect example of this happening.  There is one small bud on the bush to follow.

In another part of the garden I have seen one pink and one white bloom and then that is probably it until the seasons pass and we start all over again.

Self sufficiency?

When I was in my 20's I used to read a lot about self sufficiency.  I dreamt a lot but it never became reality.

Even though those dreams are long gone I still retain an appreciation for anything that has a home grown flavour about it.

On the weekend Linda gathered eggs from our hens; fresh tomatoes, lettuce and chives from our vegetable garden.

Every now and then, on our menu, we have what we call a 'rustic lunch'. Linda makes focaccia bread and that along with these lovely home grown ingredients made a real treat for us for our Saturday lunch.

One bush, three flowers

With the change of season and the long spell of dry weather we are seeing changes in the flowers on the hydrangea bushes.

We have a bush just outside my bathroom window and yesterday I spotted the large soft purple blooms and decided I would bring them indoors for show.

When I went to the bush I discovered the other colours on the same bush.

One bush, three different sets of blooms - how good is that?

Linking to:-

A Favorite Thing at Mockingbird Hill Cottage

More than just a sneek peek

The other day I gave you a sneek peek at a scrappy chevron quilt top I was working on.

The quilt top is finished and really does look bright and cheery.

It is destined to become a quilt for a little girl and so I will get back to you when it has been machine quilted and bound and before I send it on its way to its new home.

These scrappy chevron quilts are so much fun.  I am sure I will be coming back for me on this design.

Linking to:-
Jaqs Studio - Made by Me Link Party

Free Motion Quilting

Today Freemotion by the River is having a Linky Tuesday and so I am linking about the transformation on this quilt by the addition of freemotion quilting.

I found this quilt in an op shop when I was staying in Tauranga in January.  I wrote about this find on the 15th January.

The quilt is wall hanging size and and in very good condition.  It had quite basic machine quilting which was okay but Linda felt it could be enhanced some more so this week she set to work on it and we now have a totally new, textured quilting masterpiece.

You can read more about Linda's work and see more photos at Razzle Dazzle Quilter - enjoy!

Love those marigolds

An all time summer favourite for our family.

Marigolds are a sturdy annual that brings such lovely colour and vibrance to the flower garden during summer.

In recent years we have even been known to put some in the vegetable patch with basil as a companion plant to hopefully keep away unwanted insects.

This summer Linda planted some pom pom marigolds en mass in one of our patio pots.  We had to patiently wait for a result and now that it has come it has been a very impressive result.

We look forward to more and more of these fresh blooms until the first frosts of winter.

This one is for Aaron

When your children grow up and leave home you hope they will take some happy memories with them.

For my oldest, Aaron, apple crumble would be one of those and whenever we have a chance to meet these days if apple crumble is on the menu he is more than happy to come to the table.

We still had stewed apples in the fridge from our big apple cookathon and when I spied some blackberries in our freezer I decided it was time to do something with the apples.

I combined the blackberries with the apple and with some topping we soon had apple crumble for a treat.  Hot custard completed the picture.

We still have some left but as we are in New Zealand and he is in London I don't think he is going to make it to polish off the leftovers.  Would be nice if he could.

Surprised by Scraps

My latest work in progress has made me scrappily happy.

Based on Jen's In Color Order Chevron Quilt featured at Moda Bakeshop.com, it really is a very easy quilt to make.

I have already made one of these in Kiwiana fabrics and I enjoyed the process so much I thought it worth making another.

I have chosen modern brights for the nine patch component of the quilt.  Included are stripes and spots - fabric designs I usually avoid but in this structure I am really pleased with the way they are taking shape.

With all the best intentions in the world to complete the quilt top today, it was not meant to be - maybe tomorrow?

Time for a change

We are into the third year of meeting as the Sweet Peas sewing group.

For the first two years we celebrated birthdays by each giving the birthday girl a fat quarter of fabric in colours of her choice.

This year Linda came up with the idea of us making traditional quilting blocks for the birthday girl.

Linda did the research and found a selection of quilting blocks for us to choose from and most have made their choices already.

The first birthday belongs to Trish and she settled for a block called Sisters Choice.  Trish provided the background fabric, Linda gave a lesson on how to make the block and so it is up to us to do the rest using any colour we like except bright orange.

This particular block is 15 1/2 inches and so by the time we collect all nine of them Trish has the makings of quite a substantial quilt.

My birthday is not until December but I am already looking forward to getting mine.

Lovely Lilies

When we purchased our property there was an existing irrigation system but it did not cover all parts of the garden.  We have added to it a couple of times and this year we put some in the garden along our front drive and suddenly this white lily plant has come into bloom.  Amazing what a difference some regular watering can make.

I started thinking about the other different lilies I had taken photos of in recent years and so I did a search of my images and came up with these.  What a wonderful variety of flowers there are within the lily family alone and even then these are just a few.